The company recently advised the NEB that this corridor is now the preferred option, a change from the original pipeline corridor filed with the project application in December 2013.
On 3 June 2014, the NEB issued an Information Request to Trans Mountain asking for clarity on its preferred pipeline corridor. In its 10 June response, the company indicated that its preferred route for its delivery lines to the Westridge Marine Terminal would run through Burnaby Mountain. Trans Mountain also stated that additional studies were needed and that these studies should be completed by 1 December 2014.
Under the National Energy Board Act, the Board has 15 months to complete its review of the Project. However, according to subsection 52(5) of the Act, if the Board requires an applicant to provide more information about a pipeline application, with the Chair’s approval, …the period that is taken by the applicant to comply with the requirement is not included in the calculation of the time limit." As such, the Board has implemented an excluded period from the calculation of the time limit to begin on 11 July 2014 and end on 3 February 2015.
Once Trans Mountain has filed the required studies, both the NEB and the nearly 400 registered Intervenors will have time to review the evidence and submit Information Requests to the company. Trans Mountain will be required to respond to the Information Requests by 3 February 2015, which will end the excluded period.
